Illuminated
by Thego
Summary: Regina and Rumplestiltskin discover something that surprises them both, and are left to deal with the fallout of said discovery. Takes place after 3x15 (Quiet Minds) and is somewhat based off of the promo for 3x16 (Its Not Easy Being Green). Golden Queen.


"I told you I was going to take everything away from you, Regina. And I am not a woman of empty threats. Dark One, kill the boy."

Nearly everyone in Storybrooke was gathered around the street tonight, watching with anticipation for the fight Zelena had set up for Regina. And yes, unfortunately, Emma had proved incapable of keeping Henry out of the loop. Perhaps he didn't know that this was a confrontation between the Wicked Witch of the West and her half-sister, the Evil Queen, and rather thought the mayor of Storybrooke was opting for a more "Wild West" themed arrest of a wanted criminal, but he was here, nonetheless.

Rumplestiltskin's eyes flashed in surprise and he swallowed helplessly, obviously trying his best to resist the urge to comply as he stepped forward, his eyes locked with his grandson's- wide and fearful gold eyes meeting confused brown ones. It was his fault Baelfire was dead. And now he would have Henry's blood on his hands as well.

Emma instinctively stepped in front of Henry, one hand on her gun, the other reaching behind to hold her son's arm. "Gold…" she said, her voice wary in warning.

"Rumple-" Belle started to protest, but Hook put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from interfering.

"That's enough," Regina said commandingly, stepping between Gold and Henry, her eyes never leaving Zelena for a moment as she narrowed them challengingly. "I don't know who you think you are, but whatever your problem is, it's between you and me. Let's leave the others out of this, shall we?"

"Speak for yourself, Regina. As for me, I would so hate to see this beautiful thing go to waste…" the auburn-haired woman ran a finger over the Dark One's dagger. "It would be a tragedy to let a creature with so much potential rot from disuse, don't you think?"

Rolling her eyes in distaste for the witch, Regina's gaze shifted to Rumplestiltskin, whom she knew was putting forth a massive effort not to have killed Henry already. His resistance really should have been impossible, but, anything for family, she supposed. His skin was slick with sweat and his face was lined with concentration. His eyes were wild and dangerous, the way he often used to look in the Enchanted Forest, whenever he was about to fly into one of his rages.

He took another shaking step forward, his gaze now flicking from Henry to Regina, and back to Henry.

"I see you're still alive," Regina commented, her tone light, although her posture was tense and ready for any sudden change in Rumple's behavior- after all, he would only be able to hold on for so much longer.

He didn't reply. In fact, Regina wouldn't have thought he had heard her if not for the irritated growl she got in response.

"Forgive me for not being entirely thrilled, at the moment," Regina added, shrugging in something of a half-hearted apology.

"S- stand- aside," Gold hissed with a great deal of effort and, as he was now close enough for her to notice the small details, she could tell he was trembling.

"You know me better than anyone, Rumple. Do you honestly believe I would step back and watch you murder my son?" she scoffed. "I guess she really _did_ take your brains."

"There is _nothing_ you can do. I have to kill him, one way or another, and in my way is _not_ a good place to be," he warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"No one in this town would let you touch a hair on his head," Regina tone turned serious, and although her eyes were still trained on Rumplestiltskin, it was obvious he was not the intended recipient of her statement.

"Just let him kill the boy, Regina," Zelena sighed wearily from somewhere behind Rumple. "I don't have all night."

"I do," she snapped, just as Gold broke.

"Regina, _move_," he snarled, conjuring a fireball and hurling it in her direction. Easily dodging its path, she reached out to prevent the ball from flying into the crowd behind her, dissolving it. As his attacks grew more and more frequent, she focused more on getting herself out of harms way, and hoped the masses had enough common sense stay back, or, better yet, leave the scene altogether.

"Emma, take Henry and go," she instructed without turning around, taking a step towards Gold in an attempt to gain the offensive on him.

And, after that command, Regina kept all of her attention on Gold, blocking out all outside distractions and letting herself go back years- _decades_- back to a time when she was first learning how to use magic. Back to the first sparring match she'd had with her mentor, and every fight since then.

_Know your opponent,_ he had said, _know their weaknesses_.

_Easy for you to say,_ she'd scoffed one afternoon after he'd beaten her for the third time that day. _You're the Dark One, you don't have weaknesses_.

_Everyone has weaknesses, dearie. You just gotta know how to find them_.

In hindsight, that was probably the best advice he'd ever given her. And she did find his weaknesses, eventually. Belle had always been the most obvious- as love usually was- but threatening her was hardly going to work, not while Rumple was under the control of the dagger. And in any case, Regina had been trying to get on better terms with the bookworm.

But long before either of them had even met Belle, she'd found other weaknesses. Weaknesses that were not as noble as love: technical, battle errors. For example, he had a much weaker defense than he did offense. His reflexes, although sharp, were no match for hers, yet he tended to excel at close combat, which was something she preferred to stay away from. And, while he no longer had an injury in his right leg, she'd noticed he still much preferred the left one, and would still occasionally walk with a phantom limp.

Keeping this in mind, Regina stepped forward, simultaneously creating a force designed to blast her opponent back several feet from her. This he blocked, closing some of the distance between them as he directed a spell she recognized as a paralytic her way. This she barely missed.

She was quickly losing steam, her breath growing shorter with every blow and a thin layer of sweat forming on her brow. And while Rumple looked a lot worse, energy-wise, she knew that he was physically unable to stop until he'd finished what he'd set out to do. Then again, she had a pretty strong driving force as well.

On the bright side, an enslaved Dark One could only focus on one task at a time. Whatever it was their master had ordered them to do, that was the only thing on their minds. Unless of course something was preventing them from doing so, in which case, said Dark One's priority became getting rid of the obstacle at hand, before going on to complete their task. Which meant Henry would only die over her dead body.

Black eyes glinting, she resorted to throwing fireball after fireball at him, hoping she might be able to tire him out in this fashion. She drew comfort in knowing she wouldn't be able to kill him, and her goal wasn't to hurt him, either. However, she was fully prepared to do both before she let him harm Henry.

It had occurred to her, however, that no matter what she did, her efforts would be in vein- if she wanted to stop Rumplestiltskin, practically the only way to do so was to get the dagger back from Zelena. The way she was currently going about things, she was only stalling the inevitable.

Still, with Rumplestiltskin no longer able to resist his dagger, and with Zelena being an unfamiliar opponent, she could see no way to get the dagger back before Rumple could get to Henry. Unless Emma had managed to get Henry across the town-line by this point. Which… which would mean…

Regina lost her ability to think clearly as she was forced to dodge several more attacks from Rumplestiltskin. No, it was too late to think of attacking Zelena. She just had to focus on this. He was closer than she remembered him being the last time she'd taken note of his position. Still reeling a little from her last defense, she stumbled a bit off center, sensing the fight was coming to a sudden end as she narrowly dodged a powerful blast of magic, feeling a slightly lessened impact of it nonetheless.

He caught her wrist before she could recover fully from the force of his blow, and the look of sorrow that lit his eyes let her know exactly what he was going to do next. A controlled Dark One did not have a mind of his own, only one designed to serve the purposes of his master. And in that mind, this would only end when Regina was dead.

In his expression, she could make out terror, helplessness, resistance, and regret underneath the influences of the dagger. And, while she probably should have returned most, if not all, of these emotions, Regina didn't feel a single one. Because she could see something else in Rumplestiltskin's eyes. It was small, hidden, and unfamiliar to her, but it was still there.

In a surge of energy motivated by her sudden and insane suspicion, Regina stepped forward and closed the distance between them completely.


End file.
